Franciscan voices concern about violence spurred by Greek patriarch

JERUSALEM (CNS) - The Franciscan monk in charge of monitoring an agreement among Jerusalem's Christian communities said he is very concerned by increased violence involving the Greek Orthodox patriarch.

"It has become a very difficult situation," said Franciscan Father Athanasius Macora, who monitors Jerusalem's Status Quo agreement. "I really think someone, sooner or later, will be killed."

The violence, he said, can be linked directly to the arrival of Greek Orthodox Patriarch Irineos two years ago.

Observers from other churches say the patriarch's attitude seems to be one of ownership of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, with the other denominations being "uninvited guests."

The Greek Orthodox Church dates to James, the first bishop of Jerusalem, and, except for the years of the Crusades, it has had a patriarchate in Jerusalem since 451. The patriarch has the status of "first" when Jerusalem church leaders meet.

However, Patriarch Irineos possesses none of the ecumenical spirit of his predecessor, Patriarch Diodoros, said Father Macora. The priest said Patriarch Irineos brought personal guards and a group of loyal monks with him when he came from Greece.

"He is living in a historical fantasy that all this was theirs, and he wants to restore it," said Father Macora. "He is a profoundly limited man."

Archbishop Aristarchos, chief secretary of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, said the recent conflicts were not unusual in the history of the holy places and happen "from time to time."

"Usually the Christian communities live harmoniously," he said. "Sometimes there are tensions. This time it was due to differences with the Franciscans, or (with the) Armenians over the holy fire ... other communities also have differences between themselves ...," he said.

Despite the conflicts, he said, the Greek Orthodox were committed to finding a "peaceful and just solution."

He disregarded the charge that the conflict can be linked to the arrival of the new patriarch.

"Maybe (the other communities) think that is so because our patriarch tried to regain some of our rights, which maybe were not defended enough the last two years of the late patriarch because of his health," said the archbishop.

The Status Quo is a 19th-century agreement that regulates jurisdiction of and access to key Christian sites in Jerusalem for Catholic, Orthodox and other Christian communities. Among those sites is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where tradition holds Jesus was buried.

However, the few pages of the decree do not properly define the rights of each community, said Father Macora, and this vagueness is the cause for friction at times.

In the latest confrontation, Greek Orthodox monks attacked Franciscan monks, egged on by Patriarch Irineos, who demanded that the bronze door to the Franciscan Chapel of the Apparition adjacent to the main Church of the Holy Sepulcher be closed during the Sept. 27 procession of the holy cross.

A videotape of the incident shows a handful of Franciscan monks and Israeli police holding off a large, angry mob of shouting and pushing Greek Orthodox monks and pilgrims trying to reach the door.

A Greek Orthodox nun is seen clutching a cross in her waving hands and shouting frantically that the door be closed. One Israeli policeman can be heard shouting, "This is a holy place!" While the monks in front pushed and shouted, pilgrims and monks in the back continued to sing and pray.

Eventually, police reinforcements reached the chapel and forced the Orthodox monks away from the Franciscan chapel.

A few days earlier, Israeli government representatives had asked the Franciscans to allow the Greek Orthodox procession to pass through the northern section of the Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene, which is adjacent to the main basilica where the Holy Sepulcher is. The Franciscans granted the request although it was contrary to the Status Quo, said Father Macora, who was injured in the September fracas. He said the Greek Orthodox patriarch was not satisfied and demanded that the door be closed as he passed the chapel.

"Because I refused to close the door (the patriarch) incited his monks to violence. There are other ways of making a protest. There was so much violence that it is very disturbing and shocking," said Father Macora. "We sent letters of protests to the consuls of Jerusalem. We are very concerned that this is getting out of hand."

In all such incidents, the Israeli police have performed well, he said, but they cannot set policy. The priest blames Israeli government officials for their "lackadaisical approach" and for not trying to alleviate the problem.

"They want to present themselves as mediators, but sometimes (in order to maintain the peace) they have to impose solutions," he said. "There is no one in the government who understands the issues."

Father Macora also expressed frustration with the Palestinian National Authority, which did not step in last year when the Greek Orthodox changed the lock of the main door of the Church of the Nativity or when the patriarch's bodyguards physically assaulted the mayor and governor of Bethlehem, West Bank.

"We wrote a protest to the Palestinian Authority to either provide security for the personnel or eliminate the (patriarch's) guards," said Father Macora.

In a statement, the Israeli Department of Christian Affairs said its policy was to encourage settling disputes among the denominations to "avoid unnecessary governmental interventions."

"It has also been made clear that violence will not be tolerated and that all necessary measures will be taken by the government to ensure public safety," the statement said.

Choosing his words carefully, Armenian Bishop Aris Shirvanian, ecumenical and foreign relations director for the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate, noted that each denomination has had its "own experiences" with Patriarch Irineos.

Two years ago during the ceremony of the holy fire during Holy Week, Patriarch Irineos attempted to go into the tomb of the Holy Sepulcher to bring out the holy fire alone, contrary to the Status Quo, which stipulates that the Greek Orthodox and Armenian patriarchs, or their representatives, are to go into the tomb together to get the fire, said Bishop Aris.

"This we rejected, and we expect the Israeli Ministry of Interior to arbitrate in this dispute. We are still waiting for a response," said Bishop Aris. "We would like to see it resolved before Holy Week. It is an unpleasant situation."

Though there have been unofficial discussions among the various other churches concerning the new situation, there have been no official meetings, he said.

"It is not like the U.N. Security Council where they make a resolution," he said. "Each denomination has to resolve their own issues with the other party."

The Greek Orthodox patriarch has had similar confrontations with the Coptic and Syrian Orthodox churches.

In one incident last year, Patriarch Irineos refused to allow the Syrian Orthodox bishop to enter Golgotha carrying his pastoral staff, and eventually the staff was broken by the Greek bodyguards. On Orthodox Easter last year, the patriarch knocked six burning candles from the wrought-iron door of the small Coptic chapel behind the tomb of the Holy Sepulcher.

"He was coming through in the Easter procession and saw our candles. With his hands he pulled down the candles," said a representative of the Coptic Orthodox Church. "This is our church, our chapel; we (can) do anything inside here. (He) could've told (the priest) to take the candles down and (the priest) would have in order to avoid a confrontation ... but with everybody here (the patriarch) makes a conflict. Of course, he is a patriarch, and as a patriarch we respect him, but he shouldn't do that."

One local member of the Greek Orthodox Church, the largest Christian church in the Holy Land, said that the previous patriarch was always available to local community representatives, but now it is impossible to reach the patriarch, and the community feels cut off from the patriarchate.

The relations with parish priests remain the same, but the larger picture is more difficult, he said.

"The community needs help, but nobody is helping, not even the patriarchate. Now I am looking toward my community, not the patriarch," he said. "When he became patriarch he ... exiled all the good priests and many priests left to (return to) Greece."

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